What books helped you? Opportunity to suggest and/or review books
Hi everyone, We are excited let you know about a new page on the BCNA website for book reviews. On this page, we will publish reviews of books that may be helpful to people affected by breast cancer. There are a number of book reviews up already, which you can have a look at here: https://www.bcna.org.au/news-events/book-reviews/. What books helped you? We would love for you to tell us what books helped you when you were diagnosed. You might like to write a review of the book for possible inclusion on the webpage. Reviews should be between 300 and 500 words. Your review might discuss things like: - Did you find it helpful? If so, how? - Is it best suited for particular people, circumstances or situations (e.g. women newly diagnosed, young women, women with metastatic breast cancer, men with breast cancer, partners or others supporting those with breast cancer? - How did you feel when you read it? What parts appeal to you? Alternatively, you might just like to tell us the name of the book and we can try to find someone to read it and write a review. How to submit a review or let us know what books helped To submit a review for possible inclusion on the page, please email your review to the Policy Team on policy@bcna.org.au. Please include your name and contact details in your email so that we can be in touch with you. If you would like to tell us the name of a book that you found helpful, please also email the Policy Team on policy@bcna.org.au.
post op exercise question?
Hello all, I have a question, I have also emailed this off to my bc nurse, however they are busy and can not get back to me for a few days, so I thought I would ask here for a general idea, I was diagnosed on the 14.12.2022, today I have had my PPET-CT Scan, yuck, what an ordeal, If that is all good for my surgeon, I'm booked for next Friday for the lump removal. I understand everyone journey is personal to them and everyone's cancer is different from the person beside them. However as a general idea, once surgery is over, I need to get back to exercise, I enjoy my yoga, but am also looking at adding walking laps in a pool with my adult son, after he torn his ACL on our family holiday last week down in TAS, (that's a hole another nightmare of a story, he went face first down Cataract Gorge in Launceston) As he can not drive, I am planning on driving him to the pools when he can start his recovery treatment, so I was thinking I should also get in the pool and start off with light exercise. Has anyone done any form of aqua exercise, I know I have to have radiotherapy after the surgery, again I'm not a wear for what length of time, is is safe to go in pools, I live over an hour away from the beach, so that would be out of the question. Thanks for your time Cheer's
No energy
Diagnosed at 47 in Dec 2019 after I found a lump.My treatment consisted of lumpectomy, radiotherapy and Tamoxifen. About 3 months after starting Tamoxifen ( started April 2020 so 12 months ago ) it was like I hit a brick wall. I have little to no energy. I finished work at Christmas 2020 due to this and just do a little bit of work for my husbands business. Little as possible if I’m honest. I have tried regular exercise and still do. Doesn’t help.I started antidepressant. My mood is ok. I just have no energy. I have lost my Mojo which is frustrating. Anyone else that hasn’t had chemo feel like this? Or is it just me ?
Do I or don’t I ?
I am 66 yes old - 3 years post lumpectomy and radiation Each review I’ve had means painful mammograms ( due to dense breasts) and ultra sounds - finishing off with a mammogram biopsy - yes at every review ! I’ve just had my third year review with the inevitable biopsy - results came back today as negative So here I am - emotionally spent - if it was just the mammogram and u/s then I could deal with that but it’s the lonely humiliating experience of the mammogram biopsy and the wait for results - I can’t explain to anyone who has not experienced the impact of a cancer diagnosis - then treatment and the emotion that you go through during the reviews I want to focus on life not think every time there is pain - my mind starts thinking and while I can bring my mind into the now - this is taking it’s toll i want to have a mastectomy - I need to do something positive - take control of this monster and be boss of it - not it of me My daughter is also on this journey - I know what to expect - I don’t need or want reconstruction - I want peace My husband thinks I’m nuts going down this road - how else do I find this peace ?
Things worth remembering
Ruth Hunt, in Perth, has published a letter to herself, about the things she would have found valuable to know earlier, before metastatic cancer, It seemed to me a really good list for almost anyone. Her circumstances are very sad, but she has found a way of looking at the best of her life. A link to the full letter is at the top. https://www.kidspot.com.au/news/perth-woman-with-days-to-live-pens-touching-open-letter-to-her-precancer-self/news-story/af5e4b2fd3a89fa1029f847cc3bfbedb Ruth’s letter Dear Me, You don’t know this yet but you’re going to have a rough few years in the future - far earlier than you might expect. Don’t worry – as rough as it gets, it turns out you’re a lot tougher than you thought and you will have a lot more support than you could imagine. Getting cancer at 34 will teach you a few lessons. Along the way, you’ll have amazing experiences, so don’t fret it’s not all doom and gloom. However, despite all these wonderful things, at age 34 you will unfortunately be diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer. And, by the time you’re 37, you’ll be diagnosed with stage 4 terminal breast cancer. Cancer sucks. The first time around it’s not the end of the world. The second time around is a more difficult pill to swallow but, again, it’s not the end of the actual world. It will, however, be the end of you in this world - somewhat prematurely. Cancer will teach you that you can still train, go out, dance, sing, cook, love, work, be a sister, girlfriend and friend. The main lessons it taught me are listed below (because what lawyer doesn’t love a good list. Lesson one – Ask for help Mum always tells you the story of how you were playing with pieces of cloth as a one year old and that you were getting very frustrated because the cloth wasn’t doing what you wanted but you wouldn’t let anyone help. There’s also a great photo of you attempting to dress yourself as a two-year-old and failing miserably - again refusing help. Getting cancer will teach you that, not only is it ok to ask for help, but it will actually make life a lot easier. Lesson two – Family is so important In your twenties you will be so busy working and training that family gets a little too left behind at times. You move to the Eastern States and you are not very good at picking up the phone. You send birthday presents but they are usually late and when you do come home it’s for a whirlwind tour. Cancer will teach you that family is everything. They will be the ones sitting next to you on the chemo ward, flying across Australia just to be with you, sending you care packages and flowers. It will not be workmates. On top of this, you will find people who aren’t blood related - but they might as well be. They are the friends who call, even after there’s bad news; there will be friends who support you and love you and accept you, even if you’re a very different person from the one they met. Treasure your family and spend as much time with them as you can. Lesson three – Stress less. I promise you, you won’t be sweating on the small stuff when you are facing the end of your life. In the grand scheme of things, missing a day of work because you have a cold is fine. It doesn’t matter that you got 69% in an essay instead of 90%, in the long run no-one looks at your marks. Working Christmas Eve instead of spending it with family is a really terrible idea. (You don’t even get paid more on Christmas Eve!). Don’t worry if you’re a tiny bit late - no-one will remember. Same as no-one will remember if you wear the same dress to two functions with the same people. Lesson four – Dogs are awesome You will make the magical and terrible mistake of buying a puppy two weeks after getting a double mastectomy. Magical because Dougal is the greatest character ever. Terrible because you will quickly find out that lifting puppies is difficult post-surgery. But you will learn that sometimes just cuddling your dog is one of life’s great joys and that, post chemo, having a nice warm body lie with you is just what you need. You will get your own dog one day. He will be all yours - weird and lovely and he will worship the ground you walk on. He’ll be your only dog ever and he will be wonderful. Lesson five – It’s ok to say no You don’t know it yet but you are prone to saying yes to everything. This is one of the biggest lessons cancer will teach you. You will learn that you do not have to always say yes. Often, there are other people who can do the work. You will learn that if someone gets a touch cranky when you say no, that’s not actually your problem, but theirs. Cancer will teach you that a lot of people have been taking advantage of your generosity and kindness for a long time. The earlier you learn to say no, the better. Lesson six – Travel. Travel as far and as wide as you can. Don’t worry about taking time off work - it will always be there when you get home. As a wide-eyed, borderline fan girl law student, you and your friends will be dumbfounded when the Hon. Justice Michael Kirby tells you how he drove across China and Russia in a Kombi when he was a young lawyer. At the time, you will be so busy applying for law internships that you can’t fathom the idea of taking that much time away from your floundering career. Do it. There are so many places for you to explore. Go to Africa while you can and yes, Europe is amazing but there are a lot of different places to explore beyond Europe. There are so many places to go but, by the time you’re 34, cancer means you won’t be able to travel anymore. These are the lessons you will learn. You will wish that you had known them before getting cancer.
Tamoxifen and Sertraline/Zoloft
Hi there This is my first post. I was diagnosed in December 2018 with ER positive BC. Had surgery to take out two lumps in left breast and lymph nodes. Lymph nodes clear, I had radio and was put on tamoxifen. I also had my ovaries out later that year. I have not gone back to work yet and am struggling to rebuild and I note COVID and home schooling has not helped. I have been seeing psychologist who is great but recently my GP has put me on Sertraline because I had a bit of a melt down. I feel like a bit of a failure, its been over a year now since being diagnosed, I still have health anxiety but I should have my life resolved by now, should have found my way and taken the opportunity, the time to redirect my life by now, gone back to work. Other women have, they have gone back to work, found new meaning in life, seen it as a second chance etc. i am so worried about taking this antidepressant, in fact any. I am worried about it increasing my risk of getting BC again. I am worried that it will stop tamoxifen from being effective. I still haven’t taken it. Has anyone had this experience? Is anyone on antidepressants who is on tamoxifen. Does anyone take sertraline?
Good and bad news
It has been 3 years since I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, this week I had my annual check up my mammogram, ultra sound and a bone scan are normal I have been on Tamoxifen as well minimal side effects Bad news 3 surgeons have advised me to I need a major spinal and knee operations with in 3 months, I am of the opinion the cure is worse then the problem maybe non surgical treatments are the way to go time will tell Regards StorkOur 'New Normal' - a thought provoking article
A friend of mine shared this recently .... Author unknown— I had no idea how much cancer sucks. The worst part of cancer is that so many people confuse it with so many illnesses like pneumonia or maybe even the sudden trauma of a broken hip. Although these diseases are acute, painful and sometimes dangerous, they are brief insults to the body and soul. Once the immediate danger is gone from the body, they usually do not recur or spread. You survive! You heal! They do not become a permanent burden in our minds or lives. You go back to your normal way of life, with no real misgivings. Cancer is not like that. Yes, it can be sudden, painful and debilitating. Yes, most of us survive and it is most unlikely that our cancer will return. BUT the difference is that our minds and our lives will never heal. Cancer in remission does not leave. The person we were before cancer ... will never be the person we are after cancer. Family and friends do not expect to see this change in us and are baffled as to why our lives will never get back to "normal". It is hard for all of us to accept that a cancer survivor is, and will somehow, always be a cancer patient. First, there are the obvious and common physical effects on our body and soul. Aches and pains may persist for years. Scars and permanent surgical changes will always be there. Chemotherapy injuries such as loss of hearing, heart damage, vision or nerve damage may follow us. We may have slight shortness of breath or decreased endurance. Our skin, nails and hair may change. We may taste or smell things differently. Or altogether lose our appetite and enjoyment of food. Or worst - lose our sexual drive or satisfaction. Our memories may never be as sharp. And sleep may become erratic. Our innocence is taken away - we lose our 'soul'. We may always be tired, even after a good night's sleep. We may become weak or our mental awareness may be lost. Loss of concentration may make it hard to work or enjoy something simple like a reading book, watching a movie or visiting with friends or maintain a job. We may not have the energy, the excitement. Life may be drained of fun, satisfaction or purpose. Perhaps the inescapable change is that you may have the "never leaving, always just around the corner", deep mental pain, that reminds us that today or tomorrow, the cancer may return. Every discomfort we get will seem to be some kind of sign that cancer has come back. Something as simple as a winter's cold, a toothache, or heartburn after a spicy meal, can scream at us! It is very difficult to "put cancer behind you" when it is always in the back of your mind. The clincher? None of this will be obvious to anyone else. No matter how much our family or medical caregivers try to empathise, to comfort, connect to understand - surviving cancer is a deeply changing and highly personal experience. With that being said, the cancer transformation is different for each person and each patient. None of us were the same before the disease, and none of us experience this disease the same way. There is no "NORMAL", it all becomes the "NEW NORMAL" Cancer sucks, and keeps on sucking. Deep healing requires the understanding that things are not the same. It requires communication and space, counseling, support and patience. It requires time to find the person you have become. Author Unknown
Coping with school closures
I am terrified of the Inevitable closure of all schools. I understand why, but I don’t think I will cope with kids home ALL the time with no support from family. With all sports and extracurricular activities already cancelled they are lacking sufficient outlets for their excess energy. School is a brief respite during the day. I already find after school to bedtime quite a challenge. I am so anxious about this. I love my kids with all my heart, but they are a real handful and I am worried sick about how I will cope. Anyone have any tips? 😢PTSD
Hi All. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, and had chemo, radio and left masectomy. I have just recently had a preventative right masectomy and reconstruction. My question is, can it be possible for PTSD to develop in my now 3 year old following my most recent surgery? I thought she was oblivious during the initial treatments. But since my latest surgery, her behaviour is dreadful and her sleep is terrible. It’s totally heartbreaking and I don’t know what to do about it. Thank you